All Rise...

The Charge

"I love you, Ben. You're suspicious of
everyone."—Maggie

Opening Statement

John Mortimer's name is familiar, so much so that the people doing the title
credits for Under the Hammer let it linger on the screen longer than the
show's title. If you don't remember Mortimer's name, you probably remember
Horace Rumpole, the British barrister he wrote into existence. Ben Glazier
(Richard Wilson, Merlin), an art expert
working for Klinsky's auction house and pining after colleague Maggie Perown
(Jan Francis, Anne of Green Gables), appeared in 1993, just after Rumpole of the Bailey departed ITV.

Like Rumpole, it features a legendary character who doesn't quite fit
into a clubby, politicky setting despite his expert knowledge of the world and
his job—and manages to solve a few mysteries. With a motorcycle riding art
expert protagonist who gives chase now and again and has an awkward friendship
with a woman committed elsewhere, it could also remind you of Lovejoy.

Facts of the Case

Under the Hammer has seven episodes on two discs:

Disc One • "The Fatal Attribution"
Ben and Maggie investigate the authenticity of a painting brought in by a woman
on a bicycle. John Gielgud (Arthur)
appears.

• "Wonders of the Deep" A robbery leads Ben to
investigate the possibility that Klinsky's is selling wine with false labels.
Ian Carmichael (The Lord Peter
Wimsey Mysteries) plays a wine lover with a Puritan wife.

• "The Virgin of Vitebsk" Where is the legendary
icon? Ben and Maggie travel to Moscow to find it. There, Ben runs into an old
friend and Maggie befriends their guide.

• "The Jolly Joker" As Klinsky's organizes a
charity auction, Ben and Maggie investigate when someone spots a very new hybrid
plant in a painting by a dead artist.

Disc Two • "After Titian" Stress
proves to be a killer for a man who's concerned about the tactics at Klinsky's
New York branch, and Ben soon becomes concerned, especially when asked to lie
about an appraisal. Ben and Maggie meet "the old man," Klinsky
himself.

• "The Spectre of the Feast" To investigate a
possible Rubens, Ben, Maggie, and Nick visit a lecherous MP (Martin Clunes, Doc Martin). Ben, snooping, finds a lost
Dickens story, but it's lost again when it's stolen from his bedroom as he
sleeps.

• "Treasure Trove" Nick decides "the stock
needs renewing," so he proposes to Maggie. While she's deciding, the boss
is looking for a replacement. Meanwhile, a Venus is brought in, and Ben takes a
leave to write a book.

The Evidence

He may wear a motorcycle jacket, but Ben Glazier is more Rumpole than
Lovejoy. Ben doesn't fit into the upper-class atmosphere of Klinsky's, but he's
not an outsider; he enjoys the comforts—whether they be a brand-new
motorcycle or a cocoon filled with art and music—that working at an
auction house provides. Thus, he prefers a workplace like Klimsky's, even if
he's not quite a part of it. He also shares Rumpole's detestation of pretension
and natural curiosity, which puts him in conflict with his colleagues.

Ben's affection for Maggie seems like a gag when he's trading barbs with
Nick the "cad," but the mutual relationship of the two colleagues
comes through in small ways. Ben remembers Maggie's birthday, while her
boyfriend Nick can't be bothered, and they're usually of one mind when pursuing
the questions that form the mystery part of the story. They also enjoy going out
together now and again, and look like a couple when they do slow turns around
the dance floor—and Maggie has her own helmet when getting a lift on Ben's
motorcycle. Maggie, for her part, isn't quite settled on Ben or Nick, preferring
her work to married life, a point brought directly into the final episode as she
weighs Nick's proposal. In the end, Ben and Maggie are only friends, but they're
friends who you know will grow old together.

Although there's always a mystery, Under the Hammer pays more
attention to the goings on at the auction house. You know, things like what
happens when the boss' wife and mistress finally get together. Viewers could
close their eyes and mistake this for Chambers.

The picture and sound quality are good. The only extra is a text bio on John
Mortimer.

The Rebuttal Witnesses

Richard Wilson is good, but he's simply not Leo McKern. Under the
Hammer often feels like a retread of John Mortimer's big success, even if
it's a relatively good one.

Closing Statement

While Under the Hammer is familiar stuff, Richard Wilson and Jan
Francis work together well as Ben and Maggie. Fans of John Mortimer and
Rumpole of the Bailey will likely enjoy it if they do check it out.
Still, this time around, Mortimer didn't come up with an enduring classic.

The Verdict

John Mortimer's writing expertise gets a not guilty verdict once again.